Spooler.



No. 869,519. PATENTED OUT. 29, 1907.

A. E. RHOADES.

SPOOLER.

APPLICATION rmzn my a, 1907.

THE mamas PETERS cu, wasnnvmon, a. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO E. RHOADES, OF HOPEDALFJ, MASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPERCOMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SPOOLER.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907'.

Application filed May 3. 1907- Serial No. 371-594:-

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be itknown that I, ALoNzo E. Rnoanns, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Hopedale, county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Spoolers, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is aspecification, like letters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to spoolers of the type forming thesubject-matter of United States Patent N o. 7 606 16 granted to me May24, 1904 wherein the bobbin-holders, which are arranged in a series ateach side of the frame, are each provided with means to permit ejectionof a spent bobbin, the bobbins so ejected falling onto an endlesstraveling conveyer or belt. The upper run of the belt or conveyer formsthe bottom of a longitudinally-extended receptacle below and back of theseries of bobbin-holders, and as the spent bobbins fall onto theconvever they are carried thereby to the open end of the receptacle anddischarged into suitable boxes or cans provided for the purpose.

It happens at times that a number of bobbins thrown onto the conveyerbecome bunched and caught between the upright sides of the receptacle,jamming in such a position that the moving belt ceases to act upon them.When such a jam occurs a species of blockade results, preventing anybobbins dropped onto the belt back of the jam from being conveyedforward to the box designed to receive them.

My present invention has for its object the production of simple andefficient means to prevent the formation of a blockade such asdescribed. To this end I provide the outer face of the travelingconveyor or belt with small projections preferably arranged diagonallyand a suitable distance apart in a plurality of longitudinal rows. Inpractice should a number of bobbins fall in a bunch and tend to jam andform a blockade one or more of the projections will come into contactwith a bobbin and effect its positive movement with the conveyer,permitting the other bobbins in the jam thus broken to assume newpositions and be carried along by the conveyer.

The novel features of my invention will be fully described in thesubjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the followingclaims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a spooler at one endthereof, with one embodiment of my invention shown in connectiontherewith; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional detail on the line 22, Fig.1, looking toward the left; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a portion ofthe upper run of the traveling conveyer or belt, showing the arrangementof the projections thereon.

Referring to the drawings the drum-shaft A the rods B, one at each sideof the frame, on which the bobbin-holders are mounted, thebobbin-holders each comprising guards g, mounted in a carrier g to rockon the overhanging arm g clamped to the rod B (said bobbin-holders beingsubstantially such as shown in United States Patent No. 731617, grantedto me June 23, 1903,) thetransverso drum-shaft 9 at the left-hand endof'the main frame, see Fig. l, and the flanged drums 12 secured to theshaft 9, one at each end, may be and are all substantially as in myPatent No. 760646 referred to. So loo, an endless conveyer or belt 13 ispassed around each drum l2 and extended longitudinally of the framebelow each series of bobbin-holders, as in said patent, one of suchconveyors being partly shown in Figs. .1 and 2, the opposite turn of thecon veyer being supported on an idler-pulley (not herein shown) at theright hand end of the frame.

The idlcrs 22, adjacent each drum 112 and mounted on shaft 23, to enablethe belts '13 to get a firm grip on the drums, are located herein as inmy patent just referred to, and herein such idlers are periplu-rullygrooved, as at 22 Fig. 2, for a purpose to be described, three groovesbeing illustrated.

The upper run '13 of each belt or conveyer 13 forms the traveling bottomof a trough-like receptacle arranged below each series ofbobbin-holders, the depending flange 24 of the rail S having secured toit depending hangers 25, each provided with an outturned foot 26projecting between the upper and lower runs of a belt, see Fig. 2.Dmvnturned toes 27 on the feet prevent lateral displacement of the lowerrun of the belt, as in Patent No. 7606-16, and a shallow, elongatedsheet-metal box having a high back wall 28 is seated on the feet 26, thewall rising to the bottom of the flange 2 1, so that bobbins ejectedfrom the bobbinholders cannot fall into the interior of the spooler. Theupper run 113 runs in the box, the front wall 30 thereof being upturnedfar enough to act as a guide for the outer edge of the belt, all as inmy Patent No. 7606 16. As therein provided the spent bobbins are ejectedfrom the bobbin-holders by the attendant and they fall into the box uponthe upper run 13 of the conveyer and are carried thereby to the righthand end of the frame and discharged into a suitable box or receptacleprovided for the purpose.

Sometimes the spent bobbins will fall into the box in such a way thatthey will lodge between the front and back walls 30, 28 and form aspecies of jam, so that bobbins moving forward on the conveyer from apoint behind the jam will be held up and a blockade formed, interferinggreatly with the operation of the apparatus. Heretoforeit has beennecessary for the attendant to break the blockade by separating thebobbins forming the jam, and thereby restoring the apparatus to normalworking conditions. In my present invention I provide means to remove orbreak up a jam automatically. Herein I accomplish this object byproviding the belt or conveyer with projections 50, formed convenientlyas metal studs fastened to the belt and extending a short distance fromits outer surface. I prefer to arrange the projections in diagonal linesacross the belt, and in practice I have found that a convenient distancelengthwise of the belt between successive projections is about two feet,and I have herein shown three studs or projections in each diagonalline, see Fig. 3, making three rows of studs along the bolt, thedistance between two successive studs along one of the longitudinal rowsbeing about six feet. The middle projection of each diagonal set isshown as on the median line of the belt, and the outer projections ofthe several sets are located on parallel lines, near the longitudinaledges of the belt. When a jam occurs one or more of the bobbins formingsuch jam will be engaged by one or more ofthe projections 50 and theengaged bobbin, as B Figs. 1 and 3, will thereby be caused to moveforward positively, with the belt, changing the position of the bobbinsforming the jam and breaking the latter as the bobbins assume newpositions. By the means described a jam is broken up before a seriousblockade can be formed, and the spent bobbins ejected from thebobbin-holders are moved forward properly and regularly to the dischargeend of the conveyer.

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that on the lower run of theconveyer the projections 50 will depend from the under face of theconveyer, and the grooves 22 in the idler 22 are provided to afford aclearance for said projections as the belt passes around said idler.

I have omitted from the drawings numerous parts of the spooler shown inPatent No. 760646 as they form no part of my present invention and arenot necessary to a clear understanding of the construction and operationof the novel parts forming the subject matter of this invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a spooler, a series of bobbin-holderseach provided with means to permit ejection of it spent bobbin, a 1011gitudinally-extended trouglrlike receptacle below the series ofbobbinholders, to receive the bobbins ejected therefrom, alongitudinally-extended, endless traveling belt forming by its upper runthe bottom of the receptacle, to convey spent bobbins to one end of theframe, and separated sets of projections diagonally arranged on theouter face of the belt to engage and effect positive movement of thebobbins with the belt, the distance between successive projectionsdiagonally of the belt being greater than the length of a bobbin.

2. In a spooler, a series of bobbin-holders each provided with means topermit ejection of a spent bobbin, a longitudinally-extended trough-likereceptacle below the series of bobbin-holders, to receive the bobbinsejected therefrom, a longitudinallyextended, endless traveling beltforming by its upper run the bottom of the receptacle, to convey spentbobbins to one end of the frame, longitudinal rows of diagonallyarranged projections on the outer face of the belt, to engage and effectpositive movement of the bobbins with the belt, successive projectionsin any longitudinal row being further apart than successive projectionsin a diagonal line across the belt, and a guide roll for the lower runof the belt, having peripheral grooves to permit the passage of theprojections on the belt:

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALONZO E. RHOADES.

Witnesses CHAS. D. PATTERSON, CLARE HILL DRAPER.

